Frontier Airlines Plane Strikes Person on Ground, Resulting in Fatal Injury

A fatal incident occurred at Denver International Airport in Colorado on Friday, resulting in the death of an individual who jumped over the airport’s perimeter fence and was struck by a Frontier Airlines plane.

According to authorities, the person gained access to the tarmac late in the evening and was hit just two minutes later while attempting to cross the runway. A brief engine fire ensued, which was extinguished by emergency responders. The airport reported that 12 of the 231 people on board suffered minor injuries, with five requiring hospitalization.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing, with both local authorities and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) involved. Authorities have examined the fenceline where the individual entered and found it to be intact. The deceased person was not believed to be an airport employee.

The airport has expressed its condolences to those affected by the incident. The incident occurred amid renewed scrutiny of airport safety in the US, which had been heightened earlier this year due to a prolonged shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This led to temporary staffing shortages among Transportation Security Agents (TSA) and air traffic controllers.

In recent months, there have been several high-profile incidents involving fatalities on airport tarmacs. For example, a Delta employee was killed after an airport vehicle struck an airbridge at Orlando International Airport in March. Additionally, two pilots were killed after an Air Canada Express plane crashed into a fire-rescue vehicle at LaGuardia Airport in New York in March.

Denver International Airport handles approximately 225,000 passengers daily.

Source: Al Jazeera